Director of Sales
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In an effort to get all subscribers access to their PDF of Pathfinder #2 as quickly as possible, we processed all the orders for Pathfinder #2 at once. In effect, we "shipped" all of the Pathfinder #2 subscriber orders from 10/2 through 10/4. Your "My Subscriptions" page and shipping confirmation email will most likely reflect one of these dates. However, the term "shipped" in this sense means the processing of the payment, printing the shipping label, and granting access to the PDF. While we started doing so immediately on 10/2, the actual physical act of putting your Pathfinder in an envelope, putting your label on it and getting it out of the warehouse door, combined with a three-day weekend, took longer.
The final subscriber volumes of Pathfinder #2 left our warehouse on Wednesday, 10/10/07. Therefore, the actual date any given subscriber's volume of Pathfinder #2 left our warehouse could be any business day in the week between 10/02 and 10/10.
If your Pathfinder has not yet arrived, please be patient as it is most likely still on its way to you. If it shipped via USPS Standard Mail (which most did) the estimated delivery time domestically is 3 to 10 business days. Once a package leaves our warehouse, its delivery is entirely in the hands of the USPS and we must give the USPS the necessary time to deliver it.
Therefore, we ask that if you have yet to receive your Pathfinder #2, please wait 20 business days from the date the last Pathfinder shipped from our warehouse before letting us know of its absence. This would be November 8th. We understand that this seems like a very long time, however, this is intentionally the worst-case scenario to make sure that your Pathfinder has every possible chance to arrive on its own.
We are constantly striving to provide better, faster, and more reliable service to you at all times. With every volume we ship, we learn how to ship the next one better.
Thank you very much for your patience,
Cosmo
Paizo Customer Service
We are constantly striving to provide better, faster, and more reliable service to you at all times. With every volume we ship, we learn how to ship the next one better.Thank you very much for your patience,
Cosmo
Paizo Customer Service
Thanks for the update, Cosmo. Here I was about to get hot and roast Paizo with a scathing post because my #2 hadn't arrived yet... I login, and lo and behold - ACTUAL CUSTOMER SERVICE IN ACTION. :)
So... What have you learned from this?
Good thing you guys posted this. I've had the PDF for some time now, but like most cool people, I much prefer to have the beautifully-printed product in my hands. :)
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Chief Technical Officer
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So... What have you learned from this?
While we can print all the labels in two days now—down from about a week for Pathfinder 1—it takes more than four days to stuff the envelopes using the number of people we had available this month.
I think next month we'll have more people on the job, and we'll also probably spend an entire day stuffing envelopes before we start printing labels so that the labels don't get so far ahead of what we can actually ship.
I'm posting solely to sound off my deep appreciation for Paizo customer service.
You guys have always gone above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to communication with your customers. I am completely understanding when things go wrong, and I have absolutely no problem with the late shipment of an issue - as long as you guys let me know when that's the case. Which you have!
Thank you again for showing us what it means to buy from Paizo. :-)
So... What have you learned from this?While we can print all the labels in two days now—down from about a week for Pathfinder 1—it takes more than four days to stuff the envelopes using the number of people we had available this month.
I think next month we'll have more people on the job, and we'll also probably spend an entire day stuffing envelopes before we start printing labels so that the labels don't get so far ahead of what we can actually ship.
I was going to say something snarky about how're you (collectively) going to know who gets what ... until I realized that if the Pathfinder is wholly seperate from other subscriptions, it wouldn't matter, since all the envelopes are stuffed identically.
You also might want to consider rotating between printing and stuffing to prevent sudden brain-death from the sheer ... mind-numbing ...monotany ... of stuffing THAT many envelopes ... manually...
shudders in sympathetic horror
Thanks Cosmo,
I did not intend my comment to be taken as scathing in any way. You guys rock and I know how USPS handles media mail. I've been extremely pleased with the PDF's, but the tactile guy in me wants something in my hands. I'll go hold my pathfinder #1 while I read my PDH #2.
Keep up the good work. That people are eager to get your product in their hands is a VERY good thing. DOn't take it as anything but.
APpreciate the communication.
Chris
Cosmo
FYI:
My Pathfinder 2 arrived today (Oct. 23) in Central Illinois, by rural route carrier (which means the local Post Office had it yesterday Oct. 22). The label had an Oct. 3 shipping date.
Hope that gives you a sense of the delivery schedule to flyover country.
Have a great day.
Thanks for the update-I will twiddle my thumbs excitedly until 11/8 at the latest :)
Cosmo
FYI:
My Pathfinder 2 arrived today (Oct. 23) in Central Illinois, by rural route carrier (which means the local Post Office had it yesterday Oct. 22). The label had an Oct. 3 shipping date.
Hope that gives you a sense of the delivery schedule to flyover country.
Damn that's slow. Of course I do not have my printed copy yet either here in metropolitan St Petersburg, FL. The most any 1st class USPS stuff has ever taken me is around 5 days; it confounds me that delivery is this slow. I understood for magazine postage class, but this is ridiculous.
Serenity now!
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Chief Technical Officer
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Damn that's slow. ... I understood for magazine postage class, but this is ridiculous.
I've reported this once before, but it bears repeating:
According to the USPS, "National on-time performance scores for the delivery of First-Class Mail were at all-time highs in the third quarter of fiscal year 2007 for all three of the categories the Postal Service tracks. Overnight service was 96 percent on-time, up from 95 percent the same period last year. Two-day service was 93 percent on-time and three-day service was 91 percent on-time."
Note that they don't even track their performance on other mail rates, but you can expect performance to be much lower in other categories.
Given that we send out thousands of copies, even if the USPS achieved a 95% on-time rate (which they would consider exceptionally good) across our entire shipment, every month there will be a couple hundred copies that arrive outside the estimated window. I know it's not a lot of consolation to the many folks who draw the short straw that month, but frankly, this is just how our country's mail system is expected to perform—and we're one of the better countries. (And it's also why we've gone to quite a bit of effort to allow you to upgrade your shipping if you so choose.)
Seriously, just pay the few $$$ extra for USPS Priority Shipping. I got mine in a matter of days.
Seriously, just pay the few $$$ extra for USPS Priority Shipping. I got mine in a matter of days.
agreed
I just switched my subscription. It's an extra $2.33 per month for my sanity.
Hey guys, I've checked my subscription page and it says PF 2 shipped on 10/3 but I have yet to receive it. What do I need to do?
Hey guys, I've checked my subscription page and it says PF 2 shipped on 10/3 but I have yet to receive it. What do I need to do?According to the first post in this thread, you should wait until November 8th.
Ah yes. 20 BUSINESS days... :)
Cosmo
FYI:
My Pathfinder 2 arrived today (Oct. 23) in Central Illinois, by rural route carrier (which means the local Post Office had it yesterday Oct. 22). The label had an Oct. 3 shipping date.
Hope that gives you a sense of the delivery schedule to flyover country.
Have a great day.
FWIW, mine has not made it yet in Chicago (as of 10/26). There is a reason why Chicago has topped the worst mail service in the US for a few years running now. :(
So I should wait until the 30th before asking for a replacement, correct? My players are almost done Burnt Offerings and I'd rather run from a book than a PDF for The Skinsaw Murders.
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So I should wait until the 30th before asking for a replacement, correct? My players are almost done Burnt Offerings and I'd rather run from a book than a PDF for The Skinsaw Murders.
So at what point should we start panicking? ;)
Therefore, we ask that if you have yet to receive your Pathfinder #2, please wait 20 business days from the date the last Pathfinder shipped from our warehouse before letting us know of its absence. This would be November 8th. We understand that this seems like a very long time, however, this is intentionally the worst-case scenario to make sure that your Pathfinder has every possible chance to arrive on its own.
Thank you very much for your patience,
Cosmo
Paizo Customer Service
I got my Pathfinder #2 today in Austria. Along with Gallery of Evil.
I got my Pathfinder #2 today in Austria. Along with Gallery of Evil.
Go ahead, rub it in. ;(
And I got mine today too, in Canada.
FWIW, mine has not made it yet in Chicago (as of 10/26). There is a reason why Chicago has topped the worst mail service in the US for a few years running now. :(
Rowport, our mail doesn't go through Chicago. It comes to us via Bloomington, IL by way of Indianapolis, usually.
Cosmo
FYI:
My Pathfinder 2 arrived today (Oct. 23) in Central Illinois, by rural route carrier (which means the local Post Office had it yesterday Oct. 22). The label had an Oct. 3 shipping date.
Hope that gives you a sense of the delivery schedule to flyover country.
Have a great day.
Got mine about afew days before you and i'm in upstate new york. To be honest I don't like UPS alot ever since the one day they put a package in our backyard and my dog had a field day with it. wouldn't have been bad if it didn't contain my nintendo wii (thank god it still works).
I got mine the day after they were shipped. Of course I am doing the fastest option and live only an hour from Paizo. I think it is worth paying the extra few dollars to get it right away and I do. I also believe that it gets shipped out first which helps.
Thanks for giving me the option.
Still nothing for me in St Pete, FL. I've learned my lesson and switched to priority mail shipping. My sanity loss has been great and my astonishment grows with each passing day. I've had the PDF for a long time but I dislike reading things by PDF. I use them for reference only. I'm thinking #3 might beat #2 at this point but I still attempt patience.
Enjoy 'em if ya got 'em!
I love the fact that Austria and Canada are getting theirs before me in Chicago...sigh....definitely switching shipping methods for # 3
What about some form of reference code that could be printed on lables that we could then enter into our accouts as confirmation of receipt of physical product? This would give feedback to Paizo of what regions suckith for for which type of delivery and a more accurate perspective to the consumer of what to expect for what they are paying for in delivery time. FWIW I also haven't gotten my #2 yet and I'm in Ocala, FL (not far from the person in St. Pete.)
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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What about some form of reference code that could be printed on lables that we could then enter into our accouts as confirmation of receipt of physical product? This would give feedback to Paizo of what regions suckith for for which type of delivery and a more accurate perspective to the consumer of what to expect for what they are paying for in delivery time. FWIW I also haven't gotten my #2 yet and I'm in Ocala, FL (not far from the person in St. Pete.)
I'm 5 hours south of Paizo (Eugene, Oregon), and still haven't gotten mine. I'm going to be pretty ticked if it doesn't show up by the 8th and the "20 business days". Really, 20 business days for the post office is already up (post office works 6 days a week). Trying to be a happy customer here, but 30 days to get from Washington to Oregon is a joke.
And I got mine today too, in Canada.
I still do not have mine :(
I live in North AL and I just received PF #2 a few minutes ago. Just flipping through it, the product looks FANTASTIC... However, the mag itself is torn up :( The cardboard mailer was completely bent over about 2" on one corner...
I would return it for another, but after this long of a wait, I'm inclined to just keep it and rack it up to circumstances...
To be fair, everything else I've ordered from Paizo has arrived in great shape and was delivered quickly.
I still don't have mine either. I suppose I will wait until Friday.
Pathfinder #1 was in Spain in just three weeks. I’ve read Paizo gave access to the PDF version of Pathfinder #2 before it actually left the warehouse, but that was four weeks ago in the worst-case scenario.
According to Cosmo’s explanation, domestic subscribers should wait until November the 8th to start claiming, but when should international subscribers press the panic button?
Thank you,
Xavier
I still don't have mine either. I suppose I will wait until Friday.
November 8th has come -- but sans PF#2. I will wait until tomorrow and then e-mail a formal something or rather to your customer service address . . .
I am not upset, as these things happen -- I just can't wait to get my hands on the next installment! How else am I suppose to keep up with all the cool kids' discussion if I don't have the latest PF? ;)
I dutifully waited until Nov 8 to 'press the panic button' and email customer service. Alas I have received no response from them back. Need I sound in here on this thread instead?
I dutifully waited until Nov 8 to 'press the panic button' and email customer service. Alas I have received no response from them back. Need I sound in here on this thread instead?Nah just wait a little bit, I think those Paizo people have got weekends too.
No way!? ;-)
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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I dutifully waited until Nov 8 to 'press the panic button' and email customer service. Alas I have received no response from them back. Need I sound in here on this thread instead?Nah just wait a little bit, I think those Paizo people have got weekends too.
Well, to be fair, November 8th was before the weekend (Thursday). Customer service probably ought to be shooting for a one-day turn around on support emails, but it's understandable that they can't always make it.
I'll escalate my own crankiness if Monday ends with no response, and feel justified in so doing :)
I dutifully waited until Nov 8 to 'press the panic button' and email customer service. Alas I have received no response from them back. Need I sound in here on this thread instead?Nah just wait a little bit, I think those Paizo people have got weekends too.Well, to be fair, November 8th was before the weekend (Thursday). Customer service probably ought to be shooting for a one-day turn around on support emails, but it's understandable that they can't always make it.
I'll escalate my own crankiness if Monday ends with no response, and feel justified in so doing :)
I got my PAthfinder #3 in the mail on Friday. So now I just have a whole in my heart where PAthfinder #2 should be.
Paying more for a better delivery method is definately worth the cost for sanity loss prevention.